Woodard Family, Papers, 1841-1981

Inventory

Biographical Note

Joshua Woodard (1779-1854) moved to Ohio after marrying Rebecca Wooden of Geneva,
New York. They first settled in Ravenna Township, and then Kent. Their home
at the top of the hill on Woodard Avenue is thought to have been a station in
the Underground Railroad.

Joshua's son James (1810-1882) married Maria Hopkins, whose antecedents are
included in genealogical materials in the Dick Dudley Donaghy Papers. James
served two terms as Mayor of Kent and many years as Justice of the Peace. His
Justice of the Peace docket for the years 1841-1844 is included in this collection.
Of James and Maria's children, Frank (1842-1904) is the only one represented
in this collection.

Frank and Flora (Clarke) Woodard's son, James C., worked at The Ohio Penitentiary
in the early 1900s. Governor Martin Davey of Kent, Ohio, appointed him Warden
in 1935, a post he held until 1939. James C. and Grace Apple Woodard's only
child James C. Woodard, Jr., (1913-1981), grew up in the Deputy Warden's residence
at the Penitentiary.

Scope and Content

The materials in this collection were donated by Esther Getz Donaghy and Merritt
Donaghy Betts of Kent, Ohio. Some records concern certain descendents of Joshua
Woodard, an early settler in the Kent area, chiefly his son James Woodard, his
grandson Frank, his great grandson James C. Woodard, including many photographs.
The bulk of the collection is from the early nineteenth century. James C. Woodard
married Grace Apple and some of the materials included here also pertain to
the Apple family. Further information concerning the Woodard family can be found
in the Dick
Dudley Donaghy Papers and in the Apple Family
Papers.

Box 1

Folder--Contents

James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket book, May 22, 1841- April 3,
1844 [Woodard purchased this book on May 11, 1841. The book also contains
a daguerreotype of James Woodard, an attached newspaper clipping from The
Kent Courier-Tribune: May 23, 1962, and a color photograph of the Woodard
house in Kent: 1974.]

Manuscript index to James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket, compiled
by LTC James C. Woodard, Jr. (A.U.S.Ret.)

Typescript copy of the index to James Woodard's Justice of the Peace docket,
[prepared by the Special Collections and Archives staff]

Miscellaneous genealogical materials concerning the Woodard family, including
a table prepared by Esther Getz Donaghy and Merritt Donaghy Betts; a table
prepared by James C. Woodard, Jr.; a letter to Louis Woodard: June 24, 1942;
and a letter from LTC James C. Woodard, Jr., (A.U.S.Ret.), April 30, 1981

Phone

Street Address

Mailing Address

Email

As a top Ohio undergraduate and graduate school, Kent State's eight campuses offer the resources of a large university with the friendly atmosphere of a liberal arts college. Enroll today to start pursuing your future at one of the best colleges in Ohio. We’ve been educating graduates for over 100 years; join us today.